Hermione Granger and the Magic Blue Box
by GallifreyToTrenzalore296
Summary: Hermione is wandering London, not sure what to do with herself, when she hears a strange wheezing noise. She follows the sound and meets the Doctor, who is looking for Clara Oswald, an impossible girl who's died twice. Hermione agrees to help him look for her as long as he gets her back before her exams, forming an unlikely friendship with another Hogwarts student along the way.
1. Strange People, Strange Places

AN: In terms of Doctor Who, set after "The Snowmen". In terms of Harry Potter, set during the summer holidays after Fourth Year, before Harry, Ron and Hermione all meet at the Burrow.

**1 – Strange People, Strange Places**

'CLARA! OSWIN! OSWALD!' yelled the Doctor, running around the TARDIS console pushing buttons and flicking levers. 'Watch me run.'

. . .

Hermione Granger walked down the street. It was the summer of 1994. She could see Big Ben rising above the buildings around her, and she had no idea what to do with herself. The start of Fifth Year was more than six weeks away, she'd already done all the revision she could think of, and she wasn't due to go to the Burrow for several days yet.

Hermione turned a corner and paused, listening carefully. On the edge of her hearing, just above the noise and bustle of London, she could hear a strange wheezing, groaning noise. She began to run, following the sound. Anything to take her mind off the lack of homework she had. She turned a corner, then another, and almost collided with a boy running in the same direction as her.

'Colin?!' she said, surprised.

Colin Creevey looked up and grinned. 'Hi, Hermione. Did you hear it too?'

'Yes,' said Hermione, who was a little unsure how to respond to the situation.

'It was coming from down here,' said Colin. He set off at a run, camera bouncing against his chest.

Hermione followed him as he ran down the street and turned into a small alley. They stopped and looked at the large blue box blocking the road.

'What's that?' asked Colin.

'It's a police box,' said Hermione. 'They were common in the 1960s. Citizens who found a criminal could push them inside and then call the police from the phone.'

'Cool,' said Colin. He raised his camera and snapped a picture. 'Why is it here?'

'No idea.' Hermione walked forward and knocked on the door. It opened and a young man wearing a bow tie stuck his head out.

'Hello,' he said. 'Do either of you know anyone called Clara or Oswin?'

'No,' said Hermione.

'Oh. Am I in London?'

'Yes.'

'What year is it?'

'1994. Have you been drinking?'

'No.'

Hermione remembered what she'd told Harry back in Third Year when they'd used the Time Turner. _Horrible things happen to wizards who meddle with time, Harry_.

'Are you a wizard?' she asked. 'Have you been messing with time? Is that why you didn't know what year it is?'

'I have been meddling with time, but I'm not a wizard,' said the man. 'So you're sure you don't know a Clara? Or an Oswin? Or an Oswald?'

'No,' said Hermione. 'Why are you trying to find her? Or them?'

'I met her twice before, and she died both times, so I'm trying to find her again.'

'You can't meet someone who's already dead.'

'Tell the Universe that.'

'Who are you?'

'I'm the Doctor.'

'Doctor who?'

'Just the Doctor. Say that again.'

'Say what?'

'What you just said.'

'Doctor who?'

'One more time.'

'No.'

'Oh.' He looked a bit deflated. 'OK. Who are you?'

'I'm Hermione,' said Hermione. 'That's Colin.'

'Really?' said the Doctor, brightening. 'Colin, do you have a goldfish?'

'No,' said Colin.

'Thought not,' said the Doctor.

Colin lifted his camera and took a photo of the Doctor. Then he started craning his neck, trying to see past the tall, skinny man blocking the small amount of open doorway. 'Do you live in that box?'

'Yes,' said the Doctor.

'Cool.'

The Doctor frowned, obviously puzzled by this reaction. 'You don't think it's a bit small?'

'Depends what it's like on the inside,' said Hermione.

The Doctor grinned and swung both doors open, revealing the inside. Hermione looked at it curiously. There seemed to be a lot of levers and buttons and flashing lights and silver metal.

'What does it do?' she asked.

'I know, I—,' said the Doctor. 'Wait, you didn't say "It's bigger on the inside".'

Hermione shrugged. 'That's not so weird. A year ago I was sleeping in a tent that was bigger on the inside, though yours looks a lot bigger than the tent. What does it do, though?'

The Doctor looked panicked. 'A tent that was bigger on the inside? Did it belong to the Master? Is he back?'

'No, it belonged to Mr Weasley. I've never heard of anyone called "the Master".'

'I think this "Mr Weasley" might be a dangerous alien in disguise,' said the Doctor.

'I don't think so. I'm best friends with one of his sons, and I've been to their house, and they seem like a normal wizarding family.'

'Wizarding?'

'Yes,' said Hermione. 'You said you weren't a wizard, but looking at your police box, you must be.'

'It's a TARDIS.'

'What?'

'The police box. It's called a TARDIS. It's Time Lord technology, nothing to do with wizards.'

'Come on. It has to be magic. Humans can't build things that are bigger on the inside.'

'TARDIS's aren't built, they're grown. And you're right, humans can't grow TARDIS's, but I'm a Time Lord. Who are you too? Are _you_ wizards?'

'Technically, I'm a witch,' said Hermione. She pointed at Colin. 'He's a wizard though.'

'You know, in 1200 years I've never met a wizard before. I did meet witches once. That was a bad day for Shakespeare.'

'You're not making sense.'

'I could say the same thing about you.' He looked the two of them up and down. 'You look like interesting people. Do you want to help me find Clara Oswin Oswald?'

'The dead girl?'

'She died twice. Maybe she's out there somewhere else.'

Hermione looked back at Colin, who had a big, idiotic grin plastered all over his face. 'I can't,' she said. 'School starts in six weeks, and I know that once I go to the Weasley's I'll have my work cut out making Harry and Ron study.'

The Doctor put one hand on the box. 'This is a TARDIS. It can go anywhere in time and space. I can get you back five minutes before you left.'

'It's a time machine? Like a Time Turner?'

'I have no idea what a Time Turner is, but I guarantee that a TARDIS is much more impressive.'

Hermione's mind went into overdrive. If this really was a time machine, there were so many famous people she could visit, wizards and muggles. And she'd have so much extra time to study for the O.W.L.s. 'I'll come,' she said.

'What about you, goldfish?' asked the Doctor.

'My name's Colin,' said Colin.

'Right, Colin,' said the Doctor.

'I'll need to get some more film for my camera,' said Colin. 'But I'll come.'

'Then let's go,' said the Doctor, leading them into the TARDIS. The doors clicked shut behind them.


	2. The Goblin Rebellion

**2 – The Goblin Rebellion**

'Why do you want to come here?' asked the Doctor as the TARDIS stopped making a strange _vrwoorrp, vrwoorrp, vrwoorrp_ noise. Hermione assumed that mean they'd landed. 'Nothing happened in 1612.'

'Nothing happened in the muggle world,' said Hermione.

'Muggle?'

'Non-wizard.'

'Oh.'

'For wizards, there was a goblin rebellion in 1612. The goblin population revolted against the way wizards and witches discriminated against their kind.'

'Goblin?'

'Humanoid creatures with long fingers and feet that stand at about four foot.'

'Right.'

'Anyway, we have to study the goblin rebellions at school, and I thought seeing them first hand would give me an edge. Also, the goblins were rebelling due to underrepresentation in the Wizengamot and because they were banned from having wands, and I thought maybe the house elves could learn something from their rebellion.'

The Doctor looked more than slightly puzzled at this stream of information. 'So…is that all fixed now?'

'No,' said Hermione. 'They're still underrepresented and they still don't have wands. In fact, there were more goblin rebellions in the 1800s, which also didn't fix anything. But the house elves could still learn a bit about standing up for themselves.'

Colin saw the look on the Doctor's face and jumped in. 'House elves are magical creatures wizards use as servants. Hermione wants to set them all free, but the thing is they _like_ being servants. They don't want to be free.'

'That's because they don't know any better,' said Hermione crossly. She turned to the Doctor. 'House elves are pretty much slaves. They're not paid and they don't get holidays, and they beat themselves up when they do something wrong. It's awful, so I started an organisation called the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare which aims—'

'Spew,' said Colin, cutting in with a grin on his face. 'It's called Spew.'

'It's S-P-E-W,' said Hermione. 'Not Spew. Did you hear that from Ron? He's a member, he shouldn't be mocking it. He's always—'

'Look,' said the Doctor, opening the TARDIS doors. 'Goblin rebellion.'

'Oh, good,' said Hermione, walking over and looking out. The Doctor sidled over to Colin.

'Is she always like that?' he asked quietly.

'I'm not in her year,' said Colin, 'so I don't see her much, but yes. Yes she is.'

'Brilliant,' said the Doctor. 'Just brilliant.'

'Come on,' called Hermione. 'Let's go have a look around. Colin, you need to take lots of photos so that I can show the house elves.'

'You want to show the house elves pictures of goblins and wizards dying violent deaths?'

Hermione glared at him.

'Fine, fine,' said Colin. 'Don't worry. I'll take the pictures.'

Hermione nodded and looked back out the door. Colin and the Doctor joined her.

'Is that Hogwarts?' asked Colin, pointing.

The TARDIS was parked in a field near Hogsmeade. There were several columns of smoke rising from the little village, and every now and then there was the flash of a spell. Past Hogsmeade, there were a couple of towers that looked very familiar to the witch and wizard.

'Of course it is,' said Hermione. 'Hogwarts was founded in about 990AD, which was over 600 years before the goblin rebellion.'

'Wow,' said Colin. He raised his camera and snapped a picture.

'Let's go,' said Hermione, stepping carefully out of the TARDIS. The Doctor followed her, and then Colin, who held his camera in one hand and drew his wand with the other.

'What are you doing?' asked Hermione when she noticed the wand. 'We're not seventeen yet. We've still got the Trace on us.'

'It's 1612,' said Colin.

'So?'

'So even if I cast a spell and the Trace is active in this time, the Ministry of Magic is going to get a notification that some underage kid called Colin Creevey who they've never heard of, who isn't on any of their records, has cast a spell. They won't be able to track me down since I won't be born for over 400 years.'

'Well…maybe,' said Hermione. 'But what if it registers when we get back?'

'I'm currently standing in the middle of a vicious and bloody goblin rebellion. Honestly, I want more than a camera to defend myself with. Anyway, the Trace wasn't designed to cope with time travel.'

'Fine,' said Hermione, drawing her own wand. 'Maybe you're right. Still, don't cast a spell unless you have to.'

'I'm considering asking about everything you just said,' said the Doctor, 'but I think Hermione'd be talking for the next two hours if I did, so let's just go.'

. . .

The Doctor, Hermione and Colin ran through the streets of Hogsmeade. Around them, spells whizzed through the air and wizards and goblins yelled abuse at each other.

'What are all the coloured lights?' asked the Doctor as they rested against a building.

'Spells,' said Hermione, puffing after their mad dash.

'What do they do?'

'Depends on the spell.'

'Oh. That's useful.'

Hermione shrugged. 'The green ones are probably killing curses.'

'Great,' said the Doctor. 'How do you stop spells?'

'Shield spells, counter curses. You should probably just try and dodge them.'

'Hermione, where are we actually going?' asked Colin.

'The Three Broomsticks,' said Hermione. 'That's where the wizard headquarters for the rebellion were.'

'Is that far?' asked the Doctor.

'No. It's just in the next street. Come on.' Hermione led the way across the road.

'Wow,' said Colin, looking down the street. The sun was struggling to shine through the layer of smoke, giving everything a hazy look. Untouched buildings stood next to piles of rubble, and here and there bodies lay at odd angles. Further away, four goblins stood, outlined against a fire. Colin raised his camera to take a photo.

Meanwhile, Hermione was having a closer look at one of the bodies. 'Hey, this looks like Ragnok the Pigeon-Toed. He was an author as well as an activist. I've read some of his works, though most of them were burned by angry wizards.'

'What are you two doing?!' said the Doctor. 'Get behind cover.' He shoved Hermione towards the far wall as spells began to fly at the three of them. Apparantly the goblins further down the street had noticed them. The Doctor grabbed Colin's collar, pulling him across the street and behind a building.

'Hey,' choked Colin, 'you'll ruin my photo.'

'You can't stop and take photos in the middle of a rebellion. Especially not photos of the enemy,' said the Doctor.

'We're not the enemy,' said Hermione. 'We're just observing.'

'They don't know that. As far as they're concerned, you're over 5 foot tall and therefore not a goblin, so they're going to try and kill you. You two need to sort out your priorities. You can't admire the scenery or examine the bodies. War is dangerous, and awful, and innocents die all the time. Make sure you understand that.'

Colin started fiddling nervously with his camera. Hermione looked at her feet.

'The Three Broomsticks is this way,' she muttered, walking off. They followed her around the corner. She led them over to a building with what might once have been a sign hanging lopsidedly out the front, half of it blasted away. She tried the handle, but it was locked.

Hermione waved her wand and tapped the lock, saying, 'Alohomora.' The lock clicked and she led them inside, the door swinging shut behind them.

Inside, there were about a dozen wizards sitting in chairs or leaning against the wall. The looked like they were all exhausted, many of them sitting with their head in their hands or with their eyes closed. Three wizards were standing around a document-covered table in the middle of the room. One of them turned. He had deep bags under his eyes.

'Thank God you're here,' he said. 'They're winning.'


	3. Here to Help

**3 – Here to Help**

'What?' said Colin.

'How did you know we were coming?' asked Hermione.

'Aren't you…aren't you the reinforcements?' asked the man.

'Look at 'em,' said one of the other men around the table. 'Two of 'em are kids. I told ya. The Ministry doesn't care about us. They'll leave us 'ere to kill as many of the little buggers as we can before we kick the bucket. We're just a distraction for the goblins.'

'No!' said the first wizard. 'No, they won't just leave us here.'

The other wizard standing around the table put a hand on the first wizard's shoulder. 'You've got to face the facts. The Ministry doesn't have the resources to support us.' Hearing her voice, Hermione realised the third wizard was really a witch with her hair cut short for convenience.

'But this is Headquarters!' said the first wizard. 'They can't abandon Headquarters.'

'Whatever,' said the second wizard. This was clearly an argument they'd had before.

'So,' said the first wizard, turning to face the Doctor, Hermione and Colin, 'are you reinforcements?'

'No,' said the Doctor. 'We were just passing through and thought we'd have a look.'

'You thought you'd just "have a look" at the main battleground of the goblin rebellion?' said the witch, disbelief written all over her face.

'That's right,' said the Doctor, grinning.

'O-Kaaaaay,' said the witch.

Hermione turned to the Doctor. 'Doctor,' she whispered, 'that sounded like sarcasm. Did they have sarcasm in 1612? All their language seems very modern.'

'Oh, that's just the TARDIS translation circuit,' said the Doctor. 'They really aren't saying what you're hearing. The TARDIS is telepathic. It's translating what they're saying in your head, and what you're saying as well. Both groups are hearing the sort of language they expect to hear.'

'It's in my head?' said Hermione, sounding as though she didn't like that idea _at all_.

'The TARDIS isn't going to hurt you. It's just like a Babel fish, except you don't have to stick anything in your ear, and it works both ways.'

'Does it work for written languages? And alien languages?' asked Colin.

'Yep,' said the Doctor. 'There's sometimes a bit of a delay for written languages though.'

'Awesome,' said Colin. 'I am going to ace my Study of Ancient Runes class this year.'

'You do Ancient Runes?' said Hermione.

'Yeah,' said Colin. 'There's no need to sound so surprised. I do actually do more with my life than take photos, speaking of which…' He raised his camera and took a photo of the room.

'I wasn't surprised,' said Hermione. 'I was just…'

'Surprised,' said Colin.

'Well, maybe a bit, but… but… look, we should probably stop whispering to each other now.'

The three of them looked up. The witches and wizards in the room were looking at them very oddly.

'Who _are_ you people?' said the witch standing at the table.

'I'm the Doctor,' said the Doctor. 'This is Hermione, and that's Colin. We're here to help.'

'Well, I'm Angela,' said the witch.

'I'm Wentworth,' said the first wizard at the table.

'Fairfax,' grunted the second wizard.

'Do you really think you can help us?' asked Wentworth.

'We can try,' said Hermione.

Fairfax snorted. 'Just thinking you'll give a whirl, are ya? Come back when you've been in a real fight.'

The Doctor stepped forward, changing from happy five-year-old to terrifying warrior in a split second. 'I have been in wars worse than anything you can ever imagine, and I don't want to see another species destroyed through idiocy. Is that alright with you?'

Fairfax scowled. 'Fine. See what good it'll do.'

The trio walked over to the table. There was a map of Hogsmeade spread across it, with coloured red and green tokens spread all over it.

'We're the green tokens,' said Wentworth. 'The red ones are the goblins.'

They looked at the map. Pretty much all the green tokens were in a stack on top of The Three Broomsticks, with a few scattered randomly through the village. The red tokens were all in groups of four or five, spread evenly around the centre of Hogsmeade, which meant that The Three Broomsticks was surrounded. As they watched, one of the green tokens moved. The Doctor made a surprised sound.

'What?' said Hermione.

'It moved,' said the Doctor.

'Of course it moved,' said Hermione. 'How else are they going to keep track of where everyone is? Putting spells on tokens to monitor what's happening outside is quite a common tactic when fighting, especially in urban environments.'

The green token moved out of an alleyway and onto the main road of Hogsmeade. One of the red tokens turned black.

'He got one!' said Wentworth, but as the words left his mouth the green token also turned black.

'Who was that?' asked Angela.

Wentworth picked up the black token and looked at the crest on it. 'One of the Prewetts,' he said.

'Who?' said Hermione.

'Prewett. The family name's Prewett.'

'Oh,' said Hermione in a small voice.

'Anyway,' said Angela, 'as you can see, we're both outnumbered and outmanoeuvred. Do _any_ of you have any worthwhile ideas?'

'Have you tried talking to them?' said Colin.

'Don't be stupid,' said Fairfax. 'Ya can't talk with the goblins.'

'Why not?' said Colin. 'They're not just rebelling for the hell of it. They must want something.'

'That's right,' said Hermione. 'Currently, they're underrepresented in the Wizengamot, wizards are trying to enslave them as house elves, and they're probably still cross over those goblin murders years ago.'

'There, you see?' said Colin. 'Try bargaining with them.'

Wentworth looked doubtful. 'Well, it's pretty radical tactic, I'll give you that,' he said.

'We need radical,' said Angela. 'Fairfax, go find us a white flag.'

'This won't work,' said Fairfax as he wandered out of the main room. 'We should stand and fight.'

'And how's that working so far?' Wentworth called after him. Fairfax didn't reply.

A few minutes later, Fairfax was back with a white shirt tied to a stick.

'Here,' he said, tossing it at Angela.

'Right,' said Angela. 'Let's go.'

She led the way out of The Three Broomsticks onto Hogsmeade's main road. There were no goblins in sight.

'Hello?' Angela called. 'Anyone there?'

The six of them looked around nervously. Hermione saw a flicker of movement.

'Protego!' she yelled. The shield appeared and a green flash of light collided with it.

'Goblins, stop that!' yelled Angela. 'We want to make a bargain with your leader. The Ministry of Magic has given me full authority to make any treaties that I see fit, so get out here.'

A group of goblins emerged from a street.

'I am Urg the Unclean,' said one of them. 'If you all drop your wands, we will make a bargain.'

'No deal,' said Wentworth. 'Goblins can cast magic without wands.'

Urg shrugged. 'It was worth a try. What about an exchange of hostages?'

The Doctor bent down and whispered to Hermione and Colin, 'I think they've got this under control. We should probably leave.'

'What about the treaty?' asked Hermione.

'Treaties are boring,' said the Doctor. 'It's just two days of sitting around and talking, and then they sign a piece of paper.

'Fine,' said Hermione. 'Let's go.'

'Just a sec,' said Colin. He took several photos of the goblins and the wizards who had filed out of The Three Broomsticks after them. He even got a shot of Fairfax, who looked very unhappy with the fact that there were so many goblins nearby and he couldn't shoot any of them.

The Doctor tapped Angela on the shoulder, interrupting her negotiations with Urg. 'We're going,' he said. 'Good luck, and nice to meet you.'

'Oh…goodbye,' said Angela.

'Bye,' said Wentworth, smiling at them.

Fairfax made a grunting sound that could be interpreted as a range of different things. Hermione decided to take it as a 'goodbye'.

The Doctor, Hermione and Colin slipped out of the group of wizards and walked along the main road of Hogsmeade. Urg the Unclean raised his voice angrily, but Angela said something to him and he subsided.

The trio reached the TARDIS and the Doctor unlocked the door, leading them inside.

'Doctor,' said Hermione.

'Mmm?' said the Doctor.

'The thing I don't understand is in our history books, there's no mention of a treaty. Not even at attempt at one. So what just happened?'

'Time isn't a straight line,' said the Doctor. 'It's all wibbly-wobbly, and it's in a constant state of flux. There are very few fixed points, so anything you do can change what you think has already happened. You two just prevented a great deal of bloodshed.'

'Cool,' said Colin.

The Doctor grinned at him and then turned to the TARDIS console, flicking levers and pushing buttons. The TARDIS made its _vrwoorrp, vrwoorrp, vrwoorrp_ sound, then stopped.

'Where are we?' asked Colin.

'Where I met you, only a couple of hours later,' said the Doctor. 'You guys look like you could use a bit of a rest. How does same time tomorrow sound?'

Colin and Hermione grinned at each other.

'Great,' said Hermione.

'Awesome,' said Colin.

The Doctor clicked his fingers and the TARDIS doors swung open. 'See you tomorrow,' he said.

'Bye,' they said.

. . .

Half an hour later, Hermione was back home. After saying a quick 'hello' to her parents, she dashed upstairs and pulled out her copy of _A History of Magic_ and flicked to the chapter on the goblin rebellions. She found the section she was looking for and began to read.

_The 1612 rebellion ended in a treaty. The treaty stated that there would be more goblin representation in the Wizengamot and that goblins would not be forced into slavery. There was also an informal promise made to look into the goblin murders that occurred thirty years earlier, but nothing every came of it._

_However, the Wand Ban of 1632 caused more goblin/wizard resentment, which culminated in more goblin rebellions in the 1700s. In retaliation, the Ministry of Magic once again reduced goblin representation in the Wizengamot, which drove even more goblins to rebel. Both these issues are still unresolved._

'Well,' Hermione said to herself, 'we made a bit of a difference.' Her eyes drifted up to the top of the page, where a few words caught her eye.

'Uh oh,' she said. 'That's not good.'


	4. Diagon Alley

**AN: Sorry it's been so long since I last updated. I went away with my family for Easter, then I got hit with a whole lot of schoolwork. I should be updating more frequently from now on.**

**4 – Diagon Alley**

The TARDIS wheezed to a stop and instantly, someone was banging on the door. The Doctor walked over and pulled it open, revealing a flustered-looking Hermione clutching a very large book.

'Doctor!' she said, opening the book and showing him a page. 'I'm _in_ my history book.'

'What?' said the Doctor, trying to figure out which part of the page he was meant to be looking at.

'Look!' said Hermione, jabbing at a paragraph near the top.

'Here, come in,' said the Doctor, stepping out of the way and taking the book off her. She stepped inside as he read the offending paragraph.

_The Ministry of Magic thought a peaceful resolution to the goblin rebellion impossible, but at the military base of operations in Hogsmeade, fighting was at its height and both sides were tired of the death. Advice from three travelling wizards, Hermione, Colin and an unnamed doctor, led to a peaceful resolution when the goblin leader, Urg the Unclean, signed a treaty with the wizard leader, Fairfax. The treaty was forwarded to the Ministry of Magic and signed by the Minister himself._

'Unnamed?' said the Doctor. 'I gave them a name. This always happens. Why can't you humans accept that 'the Doctor' is a perfectly reasonable name?'

'That's not the problem,' said Hermione.

'I think it's a problem,' said the Doctor.

'The problem,' said Hermione loudly, 'is that I am _in_ my history book. What do I do?'

At that moment Colin entered, swinging the TARDIS door shut behind him. 'What's going on? I heard yelling from half a block away.'

'Colin, we're in _A History of Magic_,' said Hermione.

Colin grinned. 'Really? Let me see.'

'Second paragraph,' said the Doctor, passing him the book.

'Awesome,' said Colin after he read the paragraph. 'I'm in my own history book.'

'Firstly, that's _my_ history book,' said Hermione. 'Secondly, this is in no way 'awesome'. What if someone realises its us?'

'Think about it, Hermione,' said Colin. 'Someone reads this. Which do you think is more likely? That they immediately assume that it must be Hermione Granger and Colin Creevey, two students who have barely spoken, who have somehow managed to travel back in time? Or that its just someone named Colin and someone named Hermione who happened to be there?'

'Well, maybe,' said Hermione. 'But still, we can't afford to have our names cropping up in history books all the time. We have to be more careful.'

'Fine,' said Colin. 'We'll be careful.'

'Actually, Doctor,' said Hermione, 'I was wondering, how does this actually work? I mean, _A History of Magic _has changed, but I can remember that it wasn't always like that. How come we can just go around changing history?'

'Time isn't a straight line,' said the Doctor. 'It's all bumpy-wumpy. Most of it is in a constant state of flux, meaning it can be changed. History is being changed all the time, all around us, only people never know. Being a time traveller means you can see it happen. None of your classmates will know anything has changed. As far as they're concerned, the goblin rebellion always ended in a treaty.'

'I want to see what it says in my textbook,' said Colin. 'Plus I need to buy them before school starts anyway. Can we go to Diagon Alley?'

'Where?' said the Doctor.

'Diagon Alley,' said Colin. 'It's where we go to buy all our school stuff.'

'I've never heard of it. Is it in London?'

'Yep.'

'Show me on the scanner.' The Doctor walked over to the console and flicked a couple of switches, bringing a map of London up on the scanner.

Hermione and Colin looked at the map. 'It's about here,' said Hermione. 'You get to it through a pub called the Leaky Cauldron on Charing Cross Road. We could walk there.'

'We could,' said the Doctor. 'On the other hand…' He walked around the console, pushing buttons. Then he pulled a lever and the TARDIS began to move. It was moving in its normal jolty way when suddenly it jerked violently, sparks shooting from the console.

'What was that?' said Hermione, getting up from where she'd landed on top of Colin.

'Diagon Alley,' said the Doctor. He pulled out a hammer and started hitting parts of the console before he threw a lever. The TARDIS jerked, spun and yet more sparks came shooting out of the console.

'Come on,' said the Doctor. 'What's the matter?'

The TARDIS groaned and landed.

'Did we make it?' asked Colin, helping Hermione off him for the second time.

'No, we're back where we started,' said the Doctor. The three of them looked at the console, which was smoking slightly.

'Fine,' said the Doctor. 'We'll walk.'

* * *

'Here we are,' said Hermione, coming to a stop outside the Leaky Cauldron.

'Right,' said the Doctor. 'Wait, where's the pub?'

'I keep forgetting you're a muggle,' said Hermione. 'It's that really broken down building. It's got a spell on it to stop muggles from seeing it for what it really is.'

The Doctor looked at the building. He pulled a pair of reading glasses out of his pocket and looked at it again. Then he pulled a strange metal object out of his pocket and pointed it at the building, pressing a button. The object lit up with a green light and made a buzzing noise.

'What's that?' asked Colin.

'It's a sonic screwdriver,' said the Doctor. He turned it off and looked at it, then took off his glasses and pointed it at them instead. He put the glasses back on and smiled. 'I can see the pub now.'

'Really?' said Hermione.

'Yep. There's a sign there that says "the Leaky Cauldron".'

'How did you do that?'

'With some impressive jiggery-pokery. Let's go.'

Hermione shrugged and led the way into the pub. They walked through a dim room and out into a courtyard. Hermione tapped a brick on the wall, which then opened to form an archway. The Doctor looked down Diagon Alley.

'Wow,' he said. 'You know, in twelve hundred years of time and space, I've never seen anything like this.'

Colin shrugged. 'It's just a marketplace for wizards. Come on. I have to get money out of Gringotts.'


	5. Gringotts

**AN: Hello. I just wanted to say that if anyone has any suggestions for this FanFic, I'd be happy to consider them. This is really just a bit of fun, so if you want me to send the Doctor, Hermione and Colin somewhere specific, or want something to happen, let me know. Suggestions are good. =)  
Also, please bear with me for this chapter. Not a great deal happens, but that's mainly because it's background for the next chapter, which will be much more exciting.**

**5 – Gringotts**

Hermione, Colin and the Doctor walked down Diagon Alley. The Doctor looked around, staring at everything with an open mouth like a tourist.

'Stop that,' said Hermione. 'You can look, but be subtle. No one can know you're a muggle.'

'Right,' said the Doctor, continuing to stare around without the least bit of subtlety.

'Quick,' Hermione said to Colin. 'Let's get him off the main street.'

Colin led them into the bookshop, Flourish and Blotts. Inside, books covered every wall and quite a lot of the floorspace in between. They followed Colin around tables and underneath a twisting staircase, stopping in front of a bookshelf. Colin ran a finger along the shelf, before selecting a book and pulling it down. He flicked through it.

'Here,' he said. 'We're in this one, but we're not named. "Taking the advice of three travelling wizards, a treaty was drawn up and signed."'

Hermione pulled down another book. 'This one too,' she said.

Colin put the first one back and grabbed another. 'There's a picture in this one,' he said.

'There's a _what_?' said Hermione, reaching out and grabbing the book off him. Sure enough, there was a painting of the three of them slipping through the streets of Hogsmeade on their way to the Three Broomsticks. It was dark, and the artist hadn't done it perfectly, but it was still clearly them. The Doctor looked over her shoulder.

'Why is the picture moving?' he asked.

'Wizard pictures do that,' said Colin.

'How?'

'I dunno. They just do.'

'Listen to what the writer said,' said Hermione. '"After battling their way through the goblin front lines, the young wizards Hermione and Colin, and the older unnamed doctor, made their way to the Hogshead Inn, where they inspired the wizards there to fight. After beating the goblins into retreat with a surprise attack, the wizards forced them to sign a treaty."'

Colin snorted with laughter. 'I don't think they could have been more inaccurate if they'd tried. They even got the pub wrong.'

'But what about the picture?' said Hermione. 'What if someone sees it?'

Colin looked over her shoulder at the picture. 'They might not realise it's us.'

'Yes they will.'

'Look, I admit that it's definitely us, but that's mainly because we know we were there. Anyway, anyone who trusts this historian is clearly an idiot.'

'I guess…'

'There's not a whole lot we can do about it anyway. Come on, I need to get some money out of Gringotts.'

* * *

A few minutes later, the three of them were standing in front of a large white marble building.

'Welcome to Gringotts Wizarding Bank,' Colin said to the Doctor.

'This is where you keep all your money?' asked the Doctor.

'Yeah,' said Colin.

'There's other stuff in there too,' said Hermione. 'The bank is run by goblins, which makes it one of the safest places to keep valuables. Goblins protect their money and valuables at any cost.'

'What sort of other stuff?' said the Doctor.

Hermione shrugged. 'It's mainly money in the upper vaults, but down lower, who knows? There's much more protection down there. Some people say there's a dragon, but I don't believe that.'

The Doctor's eyes lit up. 'A dragon? Can we see it?'

'It's just a rumour,' said Hermione. 'Colin and I don't own anything valuable enough to warrant a deposit box that far down. There probably isn't a dragon anyway.'

'All the same,' said the Doctor, 'it'd be a shame not to find out.'

'No way. Do _not_ try and break into Gringotts. There's only ever been one successful break in, in 1991, and the thieves didn't get anything anyway, because the box they broke into had been emptied earlier that day.'

'All right. I won't try and break in.'

Hermione looked at him suspiciously. He didn't sound very sincere. 'You won't try and break into any of the safety deposit boxes?'

'Cross my hearts.'

'Don't you mean "heart"?' said Colin.

'Nope. You humans and you're one heart. It's pitiful. How do you cope?'

'How many do you have?'

'Two. Almost killed me once, when a human doctor got their hands on me. They thought my heart was going to explode or something. They sedated me and almost stuffed up the regeneration process. I woke up hours later with no memory.'

'Regeneration?' said Hermione.

'Time Lord thing. Come on. Let's go see the goblin bank.'

'Fine. But no break ins.'

They walked up the steps and through the burnished bronze doors flanked by goblins. Inside were another set of silver doors, also flanked by goblins, with a warning engraved across them.

'I like that,' said the Doctor, reading the inscription. 'Poetic and deadly.'

_Enter, stranger, but take heed_

_Of what awaits the sin of greed_

_For those who take, but do not earn,_

_Must pay most dearly in their turn._

_So if you seek beneath our floors_

_A treasure that was never yours,_

_Thief, you have been warned, beware_

_Of finding more than treasure there._

'Finding more than treasure there,' said the Doctor. 'Interesting.'

Hermione noticed that the two goblins were giving them strange looks. 'Inside,' she said, giving him a push. They stepped through the silver doors and into the main hall. About a hundred counters ran down either side of the room. A goblin sat at each. Wizards and goblins moved about the hall, coming and going and everything in between. Colin led them to an empty counter.

'I'd like to open my vault,' he said to the goblin.

'Very well,' said the goblin, glancing at them. Then he did a double take. Then he started outright staring at the Doctor.

'Hello,' said the Doctor. 'I'm the Doctor.'

The goblin's stare got even more intense. Then he pointed a crooked finger at Colin. 'You are Colin?'

'Yeah,' said Colin.

The finger moved to Hermione. 'Hermione?'

'Yes. How did you know?'

'You were at the goblin rebellion of 1612.'

Hermione started, paled, and then said, 'I…what? That wasn't us. How could that have been us? That was four hundred years ago. We couldn't possibly have been there.'

'Hermione, you _need_ to work on your lying,' Colin whispered.

The goblin was shaking his head. 'No, it's definitely you. There are only a few paintings in existence of the three mysterious travellers who appeared from nowhere, resolved the goblin rebellion in an hour, then disappeared just as mysteriously, but it's you. I recognise the strange clothes of the unnamed doctor, and the extreme hair of Hermione, and Colin's camera. It's definitely you. You three are well known in goblin lore. Despite the fact that the rebellions started again years later, the treaty instigated in the 1612 rebellion saved many goblin lives.'

'And wizard lives,' said Hermione.

'Yes, well, I suppose that couldn't be helped. Still, you did your best.'

'For the record, it's not 'unnamed',' said the Doctor. 'My name _is_ the Doctor.'

'Doctor who?'

'Just the Doctor. That's it.'

'Really?'

'Yes.'

'Can we get money out of my vault now?' said Colin.

'Of course,' said the goblin. 'It would be my pleasure to escort ancient heroes through our bank. May I have your key?'

Colin handed over a small gold key. The goblin took it, examined it, and handed it back.

'Follow me, please,' he said, climbing down from the counter and leading them through one of a multitude of side doors.


	6. Much Better than a Rollercoaster

**AN: Sorry for the delay, and for how short this chapter is. I've had a lot of schoolwork lately. I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as possible, but I'll probably be pretty busy until the end of term, which is a couple of weeks away.**

**6 – Much Better than a Rollercoaster**

The cart sped along tracks through the ground, passing tunnels and intersections before it pulled to a stop outside one of the vaults. They climbed out of the cart and Colin handed his key over to the goblin, who unlocked the vault. Colin grabbed a stack of galleons and then they were back on the cart, heading for the surface, but they hadn't been travelling long when, instead of travelling upwards, the cart branched off and began heading down again. The goblin struggled with the wheel, but every turn, instead of going up, the cart headed deeper and deeper into the heart of Gringotts.

'What's going on?' asked Hermione. She had to talk quite loudly to be heard over the clattering of the wheels and the wind roaring around them.

'I'm not sure,' said the goblin.

'Has someone hexed it?'

The goblin shook his head. 'It is not possible to hex Gringotts carts. They are immune to magic. We'll see soon enough, at any rate. The Thief's Downfall will take care of any magic.'

'The Thief's Downfall?'

'You'll see. It cancels all enchantments.'

The cart continued to turn down at every opportunity. Suddenly a waterfall appeared in front of them. Hermione guessed that this was the Thief's Downfall. The cart shot through, and apart from getting very wet, they were all unharmed. The goblin started to look seriously concerned. He went back to battling with the wheel.

Colin looked around. He'd never been this deep before. These were the _really_ high security vaults. Something caught his eye and he looked down. The Doctor was pointing his sonic screwdriver at the steering wheel. Colin pointed at it and raised his eyebrows at the Doctor. The Doctor grinned and put a finger on his lips.

Just then the cart shot around a corner and a large white dragon appeared in front of them. The Doctor's childish grin got even bigger, Colin gaped, and Hermione even managed to stop talking for a minute. The cart slowed to a stop in front of the dragon. From this distance, they could see long, thin scars criss-crossing its face and neck, and manacles around its ankles. The dragon ROARED, and the goblin, once again in control of the cart, threw it into reverse. The cart shot backwards as fire billowed from the dragon's maw.

Colin glanced at the Doctor to see him slip something inside his jacket pocket.

The goblin managed to find tracks to turn the cart around and then they were heading back towards the surface. They passed under the Thief's Downfall, once again without incident, past all the normal vaults, and then the cart pulled to a stop. They climbed out and the goblin led them back into the main area of the bank. Before climbing back onto his desk, he turned and bowed.

'It was a pleasure to meet you all,' he said. 'To meet figures of goblin legend is truly amazing. Also, I will report the malfunctioning cart to my superior. It should not have behaved that way, and I hope you won't let the cart's behaviour tarnish you view of the bank.'

'Don't worry about it,' said the Doctor. 'I'm sure the cart is fine.' He turned and headed for the exit. Colin and Hermione followed him.

'I wonder what happened to the cart,' said Hermione. 'That goblin told me that the waterfall would cancel all spells and enchantments. It must have been a powerful spell.'

Colin shook his head. 'It wasn't a spell. Ask the Doctor about it.'

'What?'

'Apparently that sonic screwdriver does more than let him see the Leaky Cauldron.'

'Doctor!' called Hermione. The Doctor stopped in the shadow of the silver doors.

'Come along,' he said. 'I want to look at some more of these wizarding shops.'

Hermione caught up to him, grabbed his arm, and pulled him through the bronze doors and out of the Gringotts. 'Was that you?' she demanded angrily.

'Was what me?'

'The cart.'

'Errr…' said the Doctor. 'Maybe.'

'You promised no break ins. You crossed your heart.'

'Heart_s_. Anyway, I didn't break in. I just wanted to see the dragon. You've gotta admit, that was pretty cool.'

'The dragon was awesome!' said Colin.

Hermione swung around to glare at him instead.

'What?' said Colin.

'Look,' said Hermione. 'We can't just…Doctor, look at me. I'm talking to you.'

The Doctor continued to stare over her shoulder. The expression on his face was a mixture of shock, fear, and concern.

'Doctor?' Hermione turned, following his line of sight. Wizards and witches bustled in and out of shops, the fountain bubbled quietly, and owls were hooting from further down the alley. All in all, everything looked completely normal.

'Doctor, what is it?' said Hermione.

'The fountain,' said the Doctor. 'Look at the fountain.'

Hermione looked at the fountain. It seemed like a fairly normal fountain. A pool of water with a group of statues in the middle. Nothing unusual.

'Hey, one of those statues is new,' said Colin. 'When did that happen?'

'Really?' said Hermione.

'Yeah. That one.' Colin pointed.

'Keep your eyes fixed on it,' said the Doctor. 'Whatever you do, _don't blink_.'

Hermione looked at the statue, wondering what was dangerous about an angel statue with its hands over its face, as though it was weeping.


	7. Angels in the Ministry

**AN: Sorry for the delay in getting this chapter up. At the moment I'm starting to gear up for my end-of-Year-12 exams. I have the Trial exams over the next few weeks, and the final ones a few months later, so I probably won't be doing too much writing till the end of October. I'll try to write a bit though =)**

**7 – Angels in the Ministry**

'What is that?' said Colin. 'What's bad about a statue?'

'It's not a statue,' said the Doctor. 'It's a Weeping Angel.'

'It _looks_ like a statue.'

'That's because Weeping Angels have the perfect defence system. When you look at them, they're quantum locked. They're stone. They can't move. But as soon as you look a away, or blink, they move. And they're fast. Faster than you can imagine.'

'What do they do?'

'They kill you. Only psychopaths in the universe to kill you nicely. No mess, no fuss, they just zap you into the past and let you live to death. They feed of the extra time energy you leave behind.'

'How do you stop them?' Colin was starting to sound scared.

'With great difficulty. I haven't encountered them particularly often, and unfortunately there isn't a nearby crack in the fabric of space and time to throw it into this time.'

'What?'

'Don't worry.'

Just then, an official-looking man came bustling across the square towards Gringotts. He noticed that there were three people staring fixedly at the fountain, and turned. He saw the angel statue and gave an annoyed sigh.

'Careful,' said the Doctor. 'That's a Weeping Angel. It's very dangerous.'

The man didn't appear to hear. He got out his wand and waved it at the angel, saying, 'Petrificus Totalus.' He turned to face the Doctor, Hermione and Colin. 'Good morning,' he said. 'I apologise for any inconvenience that angel may have caused you. We try and keep them under control, but they've been cropping up in public places more often lately. It's such a bother. Don't worry. I've taken care of it.'

Hermione and Colin relaxed, but the Doctor continued to stare at the Weeping Angel, unblinking.

'Sir?' said the man. 'You can stop watching it now.'

'What did you do to it?' said the Doctor, continuing to stare at it.

'I petrified it,' said the man. 'It can't move. You can go on with your shopping, sir.'

'I…but that's a Weeping Angel. They're really dangerous.'

'Not if you know how to deal with them. Don't worry, it's not a danger anymore. People from the Ministry will be here shortly to clear it away.'

The Doctor finally dragged his eyes away from the statue. 'Clear it away? To where? Is the petrification permanent?'

'It's all under control, sir,' said the man. 'Just forget about it and continue with your shopping.'

'And what is this Ministry everyone keeps talking about?' said the Doctor.

The man frowned at that, and Hermione couldn't blame him. Who didn't know about the Ministry of Magic?

'Right,' said Hermione. 'Time to go, Doctor.' She grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the man, who was looking at them suspiciously. Colin smiled at him, snapped a picture of the Angel, and followed them into a small alley between two shops.

'Wait,' said the Doctor. 'I need to figure out what they're going to do with that Angel. Do you know how long it will stay petrified for?'

Hermione shrugged. 'A few hours, I suppose. I've only used that spell a couple of times, and never on a statue, so it's hard to be sure.'

The Doctor tried to go back out into the square, but Hermione pulled him back. 'Doctor, you can't ask questions like that.'

'Like what?'

'Like "What's the Ministry?". Everyone knows the Ministry of Magic. It'd be like asking what the government is. You can't let anyone figure out you're a muggle.'

'What happens if they do?'

'Colin and I would get expelled, at the least. I don't know what they'd do with you. Probably just wipe your memory.'

'OK, fine. But we need to figure out where that Angel's going.'

'Don't worry about it. The Ministry will take care of it.'

The Doctor shook his head. 'Weeping Angels are really dangerous. I need to check you humans aren't doing something stupid with them. In twelve hundred years I've come to realise that humanity has a capacity for self-destruction that borders on genius.'

Hermione looked affronted at that, but before she could voice her displeasure, Colin spoke. 'That Angel didn't seem so dangerous to me. The man petrified it. Every Third Year knows that spell. It's not exactly difficult.'

'Come on,' said the Doctor. 'Aren't either of you just a bit curious about what they're doing with dangerous aliens in the Ministry?'

'Well,' said Colin, grinning, 'if you put it like that, I'm in.'

'We can't,' said Hermione. 'It's against the rules. What if we get caught?'

'You don't have to come,' said the Doctor. 'Let's go, Colin.' The two of them walked off. Half a minute later, Hermione came running after them. The Doctor grinned at her. 'Nice to have you along.'

'You'll get arrested or something if I don't help you,' she said. 'But if we get caught, it's your fault for ruining my education.'


	8. Infiltration

**AN: I am so, so sorry for the delay in posting this chapter. I had my end-of-high-school exams, and I think during that study period I got out of the habit of writing so much. Anyway, my goal this year (I'm loathe to call it a New Year's Resolution because they always seem to fail) is to write more. My overall aim is to write a bit every day and try and post at least one chapter every week. Obviously, I'm not there yet since we're two weeks into 2015 and this is my first chapter, but that's what I'm aiming at.**

**Anyway, if anyone has any suggestions/ideas about what the Doctor, Hermione and Colin could do, I'm happy to take them on board. I have a friend who's been helping me with ideas, but we don't go to school together anymore, so any help is appreciated. I've already been given a couple of ideas which I've worked into a rough plan for future chapters.**

**Anyway, thanks for being patient and I hope the chapter's not too bad =)**

**8 – Infiltration**

After a fifteen minute walk, the Doctor, Hermione and Colin were in Whitehall, standing outside an old red telephone box, which was missing several panes of glass and stood before a heavily graffitied wall.

'This is the visitor's entrance to the Ministry,' said Hermione.

'How d'you know that?' asked Colin.

Hermione shrugged. 'Last summer holidays I stayed at the Burrow with the Weasleys, and I got chatting with Mr Weasley about the overlap between the muggle and wizarding worlds, and he told me about the visitor's entrance to the Ministry.'

'Well how does it work?' said Colin.

Hermione shrugged. 'I'm not really sure. I think you get in and dial a number or something.'

'Right,' said the Doctor. 'In we get then.'

The three of them crammed into the booth.

'Now what?' asked Hermione. 'We don't know the number.'

The Doctor grinned and picked up the receiver. He pointed his sonic at the phone and pressed a button. The sonic whirred for a couple of seconds, and he turned it off again.

A cool female voice sounded inside the telephone box. 'Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. Please state your name and business.'

'What department should I pretend to be in?' the Doctor whispered to Hermione.

'Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures,' Hermione whispered back.

'Right, yes,' said the Doctor loudly. 'I'm John Smith, Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. I'm here to collaborate with a colleague on the matter of the Weeping Angels. Hermione and Colin are my assistants.'

The female voice sounded puzzled. 'We have no record of a John Smith in that Department.'

'That's because I'm a visitor,' said the Doctor. 'I'm from the New Zealand Ministry.'

'Of course,' said the voice. 'Visitors, please take your badges and attach them to the front of your robes.'

Three square silver badges clunked into the slot where returned coins normally appeared. They read _John Smith, New Zealand Ministry of Magic_; _Hermione, assistant_ and _Colin, assistant_. The three of them pinned their badges on as the voice spoke again.

'Visitors to the Ministry, you are required to submit to a search and present your wand for registration at the security desk, which is located at the far end of the Atrium.

The floor of the telephone box shuddered and it began to sink slowly into the ground. The pavement rose up past the glass windows, and they were enclosed in darkness, with only the dull grinding noise of the telephone box's movement for company. After about a minute, light began creeping up their feet. Slowly the telephone box descended, coming to a rest on the floor of the Ministry of Magic.

They were standing t one end of a very long and splendid hall with a highly polished, dark wood floor. The ceiling was peacock blue and inlaid with golden symbols that moved and changed. The walls were panelled with dark wood and had many gilded fireplaces set into them. Every few seconds a witch or wizard would emerge from one of the left-hand fireplaces with a soft _whoosh_. On the right-hand side, short queues were forming before each fireplace, waiting to depart.

'What are the fireplaces for?' asked the Doctor.

'They're part of the Floo Network,' said Hermione. 'You stand in the fireplace, say where you want to go, and throw in some Floo powder. Then you appear in another fireplace, as long as it's connected to the Floo Network.'

'Oh. Right.'

The three of them walked down the hall and deeper into the Ministry. They passed a fountain with several larger-than-life statues. The Doctor paused to examine them, but there were no stone angels. The statues were golden, and there were a wizard, a witch, a centaur, a goblin and a house-elf. Silver and bronze coins glinted in the bottom of the fountain.

'I've never seen coins like that before,' said the Doctor.

'Wizarding money,' said Colin. 'The bronze ones are Knuts and the silver ones are Sickles. We also have golden coins called Galleons.'

The trio continued down the hallway.

'Hey! You three!' someone called. They looked left to see a a badly-shaven wizard in peacock-blue robes gesturing at them from a desk to the left beneath a sign reading _Security_. The Doctor, Hermione and Colin walked over to him. He nodded at their silver badges.

'Visitors?' he said.

The Doctor smiled. 'That's right.'

'I need you to step over here.'

The three of them stepped over to the wizard, who produced what looked like a golden car ariel, and passed it up and down each of their fronts and backs. Nothing happened to Hermione and Colin, but as it passed the Doctor's chest it vibrated. The wizard frowned.

'What's in your front pocket?' he asked.

'Sonic screwdriver,' said the Doctor. The wizard looked puzzled. 'A scientific instrument,' elaborated the Doctor. He reached into his pocket and placed the gold and silver screwdriver on the desk.

The wizard picked it up and turned it over in his hands. 'What does it do?'

'I work in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. I use the screwdriver to scan magical creatures. It speeds up my research tenfold. Instead of casting spells to examine a creature, I can use my screwdriver, which doesn't damage the creature and is much more efficient.'

'I see,' said the wizard. He clearly didn't.

The Doctor reached into his other pocket. 'This is my permit for it,' he said, holding up what appeared to Hermione to be a blank piece of paper inside a black wallet.

The wizard looked at the paper and nodded. 'That seems to be in order.' The Doctor picked up his screwdriver and slipped it and the paper back into his jacket.

'Wands,' said the wizard.

Hermione and Colin handed their wands over. The wizard dropped Hermione's on a strange brass instrument, which looked like a set of scales with only one dish. It began to vibrate and a narrow strip of parchment came speeding out of a slit in the base. The wizard tore it off and read it.

'Ten and three quarter inches, dragon heartstring core, been inure four years. That correct?'

'Yes,' said Hermione, and the process was repeated for Colin.

The wizard turned to the Doctor. 'Sir, I need your wand.'

'Don't have one,' said the Doctor.

The wizard frowned and Hermione interjected. 'He doesn't have his wand _here_. He left it at the place we're staying. We know very little about Magical Creatures he came to examine today, so he left it behind so that he didn't accidentally cast a spell on them or something.' She lent forward and said in a stage whisper, 'He's very absent-minded. Clever, but absent-minded.'

'Forgetting not to cast a spell? That seems unbelievably scatter-brained,' said the wizard, putting emphasis on _unbelievably_.

Hermione shrugged. 'Why do you think he has two assistants at the age of thirty?'

'Hmmm,' said the wizard. 'Fine. You can pass.'

Hermione smiled. 'Thank you.'

The Doctor grinned. 'Off we go then.'

The three of them plunged back into the steady crowds of work hours at the Ministry.

'What was that blank paper?' asked Hermione.

'What?' said the Doctor. 'Oh, it's psychic paper. Shows people whatever I want them to see. '

'Handy,' said Colin.

'Tell me about it,' replied the Doctor. 'So, where would the Ministry keep its Weeping Angels.'

'Whatever floor the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures is on,' said Hermione.

The Doctor, Hermione and Colin found a bank of lifts and got into one. For some reason, there were several paper planes flapping around in the lift, but none of them knew what they were for, so they decided it was best to ignore them.

'What floor?' whispered Colin as several other wizards entered the lift.

'Don't know,' Hermione whispered back.

'Excuse me,' the Doctor said. A wizard turned around. 'I'm John Smith, visitor from the New Zealand Ministry of Magic.' He pulled out his psychic paper and showed it to the wizard. 'I was wondering if you could tell me what floor the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical of Magical Creatures is on.'

'Fourth,' said the wizard.

'Thanks,' said the Doctor, and Hermione pressed the button.

The Doctor, Colin and Hermione arrived on the fourth floor. The Doctor walked straight up to someone.

'Excuse me,' he said. The wizard turned. 'I'm looking for your Weeping Angels. Where do you keep them?'

'Our what?'

'You know, the angels that are made of stone if you're looking at them, but move when they aren't.'

'Oh, the Angelae. They're that way.' The wizard pointed down the corridor. Then he frowned. 'Hang on a second. Who the hell are you?'

'Oh, very rude of me,' smiled the Doctor. 'I'm John Smith, New Zealand Ministry of Magic.' He showed his psychic paper.

'That piece of paper's blank,' said the wizard.

The Doctor looked at it. 'So it is,' he said nodding. He glanced at Colin and Hermione. 'Run.'

'What?' said Hermione, but the Doctor was already bolting down the corridor in a strange, gangly run with Colin hot on his heels. Hermione dodged the wizard and went pelting after them.

The three of them stopped, Hermione and Colin breathing hard, outside a door with a large WARNING! DO NOT ENTER sign on it.

'This'll be it,' said the Doctor. He was grinning, barely out of breath. He pulled out his sonic and aimed it at the lock, but nothing happened. He frowned and shook the screwdriver.

'There'll be a spell on it,' panted Hermione.

'Ah,' said the Doctor. 'Can you take it off?'

'I'm under 17. The Ministry has a…' She took a huge breath. 'In short, no.'

In the hallway behind them, Hermione could here people shouting.

The Doctor pointed the sonic at the other side of the door. There was a faint sound of metal moving against metal.

'What are you doing?' asked Colin.

'Undoing the screws holding the hinges on,' said the Doctor. 'It is a screwdriver, after all.' He finished the top hinge and moved to the bottom one. The shouting was getting louder, and they could hear running feet.

The screws clinked out of the bottom hinge. The Doctor pushed on the door. It didn't move very far since it was still locked in place at the latch with a spell, but it was enough space to squeeze through. The three of them ducked through the door. The Doctor pushed it shut behind them.

At the sight of the brightly lit room, Hermione's breath caught.

In front of them was rank upon rank of Weeping Angels.


	9. Escape

**AN: OK, I'm really enjoying writing this story, so I'm going to keep posting when I can, but I give up on doing it regularly. Uni is hard, so it's too difficult to write what I want regularly. Thank you for your patience and the positive messages.**

**9 – Escape**

There were four rows of angels stretching down the length of the narrow room. The rows were arranged in two pairs, with the angels facing each other. Outside the door, a whole lot of running feet went past.

'Hmm,' said the Doctor. 'Clever.'

'What's clever?' asked Colin.

'Every angel has another angel watching it, so every angel remains in its quantum-locked state and can't move. Best way to deal with a Weeping Angel, really.'

'What about smashing them?'

'Every piece of an angel becomes an angel. Every piece you smash off has the potential to grow into another whole angel. Plus if you happen to touch it without looking at it, poof! You're gone. Zapped into the past.'

'What about the crack in space and time you mentioned before?' said Hermione.

'Ah, yes, well, while that is _technically_ better, since it disposes of them permanently, or relatively permanently, but having a convenient crack in the fabric of space and time to throw them into creates a whole host of other problems.'

'There's a lot of them,' said Colin. He raised his camera to take a couple of photos, but the Doctor put a hand over the sense.

'Every piece of an angel becomes an angel, including photographs. Unless you want to kill all of us, and then a whole lot of other people, don't photograph them.'

Colin lowered the camera again.

'So, are you going to do anything about the angels?' asked Hermione.

'No. I don't like the fact that they're here, but it really is the best place to keep them, and moving them is too risky. I can't think of a better place to put them, anyway. At least I know they're here. I'll just have to keep an eye on this place to make sure they're not being misused.'

'Misused? How do you misuse a Weeping Angel?' said Hermione.

The Doctor sighed. 'With a lot of greed and a lot of death.'

'Well, I'm glad that's sorted,' said Colin. 'But how do we get out of here? Because I think they just figured out where we are.'

Sure enough, running feet were heading back down the corridor. 'They must have broken into the Angelae room,' shouted the voice of the wizard who had seen through the psychic paper.'

The Doctor grinned and waggled his eyebrows. 'Ready to run?'

He pulled the door open for them and Hermione and Colin slipped out and began pelting down the corridor towards the lifts. The Doctor ducked out right behind them.

'Sorry, you might need to fix the hinges on this door,' he called cheerfully to the wizards running towards him. Several of them pulled out wands. The Doctor waved and took off after Hermione and Colin.

He caught them at the lift. Colin was frantically jabbing the "Up" button.

'Do you enchant your lights?' asked the Doctor.

'No, just the windows,' said Hermione.

The Doctor raised his sonic screwdriver.

'Drop it or we'll fire,' yelled one of the wizards running down the hall.

The screwdriver whined and the lights along the corridor shattered, dropping hot glass onto the approaching wizards. The wizards flinched and ducked and the Doctor, Hermione and Colin ducked into the lift. Colin hit Level 1 and then started jabbing the "Door Close" button. The Doctor aimed his sonic screwdriver at the doors, which slammed shut, then at the ceiling, and the lift began to go up a lot faster than they'd gone down.

They arrived at Level 1 and tumbled out of the lift, then set off at a brisk walk back the way they'd come in.

'How do we get out?' asked the Doctor.

Hermione grimaced. 'Right-hand fireplaces by the look of it, but we'd need another fireplace connected to the Floo Network to go to.'

'No, look!' said Colin. 'The fireplaces at the end aren't Floo fireplaces. People are just standing in them and disappearing. No Floo powder or talking involved.'

'Well spotted, Colin,' said the Doctor, grinning. 'Let's go jump the queue.'

'Hey!' came a shout from behind them.

'And we run,' said the Doctor. He grabbed Hermione and Colin's hands and ran towards the far fireplaces.

The queue was about five people long. The Doctor ran up to the man at the front.

'Hi,' said the Doctor, giving his best charming smile. He fished around in his pocket and produced his psychic paper, showing it to the man. 'John Smith, fireplace inspector. Just need to check these are working properly. Do you mind?'

The wizard frowned. 'Well, actually—'

'Excellent,' said the Doctor. 'Won't take a second.' He shoved Colin into the fireplace. He disappeared, and Hermione jumped in after him, closely followed by the Doctor.

* * *

The Doctor frowned, trying to get his bearings. Why was he standing in a toilet?

'Doctor, come on,' said Hermione, grabbing his hand and pulling him out of the toilet. The three of them left the toilet block, thankfully not covered toilet water, probably due to magic.

'Where now?' asked Colin.

'Back to the TARDIS before they figure out where we've gone,' said the Doctor.

* * *

10 minutes later, after a very quick walk, they were standing inside the TARDIS.

'So,' said the Doctor. 'Anywhere and everywhere. Everything that was or is or will be. Where do you want to go next?'

'Is it always this dangerous?' asked Hermione.

'Well, normally I try to avoid…Who am I kidding? Yes, somehow it always does seem to be this dangerous. You still on board?'

'Yes. At the rate Harry's going, I need practice at dangerous situations.'

'Colin?'

Colin grinned. 'For sure. This is _awesome_.'

'Excellent. So where to?'

They were interrupted by a loud ringing sound.

'Is that a phone?' asked Hermione.

'Well, it is a phone box,' said the Doctor. 'Just a second.' He stuck his head out of the TARDIS and grabbed the phone. 'Hello? Oh, hi Vastra. No, I'm fine. No, I'm _not_ moping. Well, maybe, but I'm not by myself. No, I haven't found Clara again, but I've met Colin and Hermione. You should meet them. Look, you can't just call me and criticise me, or the TARDIS will stop putting you through. What, really? No, sounds like fun. What's the date at the moment? Great. See you then.'

The Doctor hung up and grinned at Hermione and Colin. 'Fancy a trip to Victorian London?'


End file.
